KAWARTHA LAKES- The Ministry of Health is updating its website this morning to focus on the key indicators that will be closely monitored as we head into the Fall.
Ontario Medical Officer of Health Dr. Moore has said we can expect cases to begin to rise as we approach September but with the protection offered by vaccines, growing case counts will not have the same meaning as they did earlier in the pandemic.
The Ministry says hospitalization and ICU admissions will be the key indicators that show us the effectiveness of our response against COVID-19. As such, the Ministry will make updates to it’s website to include additional vaccination data, as well as re-arrange how the data is presented online to prioritize vaccinations and hospitalizations.
“Of note, while breakthrough cases will still occur in individuals who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, getting vaccinated provides strong protection against COVID-19. As such, we felt it was important to include data linking vaccination status with COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions, as well as case counts.” said Alexandra Hilkene, Spokesperson Ministry of Health.
Categories will include:
- Individuals in hospital due to COVID-19 (excluding ICU) broken down by unvaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals
- Individuals in ICU due to COVID-19 broken down by unvaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals
- All COVID-19 cases broken down by unvaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals
Experts say age and obesity are two of the biggest risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19.
According to the CDC older adults are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. More than 80% of COVID-19 deaths occur in people over age 65, and more than 95% of COVID-19 deaths occur in people older than 45. The CDC also says Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put various groups of people at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19, including many racial and ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities.
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- Studies have shown people from racial and ethnic minority groups are also dying from COVID-19 at younger ages. People in minority groups are often younger when they develop chronic medical conditions and may be more likely to have more than one condition.
- People with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to have chronic health conditions, live in congregate setting, and face more barriers to healthcare. Studies have shown that some people with certain disabilities are more likely to get COVID-19 and have worse outcomes
The CDC says Overweight (defined as a body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m2 but < 30 kg/m2), obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2 but < 40 kg/m2), or severe obesity (BMI of ≥40 kg/m2), can make you more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. The risk of severe COVID-19 illness increases sharply with elevated BMI.
It’s unlcear if they will start listing those numbers as well.
